The only tenor banjo in the Michael Shames collection. Reason: no All American
plectrum was ever produced. About 12 to 15 of these were made, and all
were tenors. Only about half survive today. This was the last of the
Gibson line of carved Mastertone's. The S/N of 9747-3 indicates a date of around 1935, shortly before all elaborately
carved Gibson's ceased production.

This banjo was acquired from the original owner, who never played it,
but used it only for display. To this day it is brand new, and
the finest known example.

An interesting sidelight about this instrument: When the new Gibson
Co. re-introduced it's fabled Florentine and All American models back in
the late 1960's and early 1970's, there was nobody who could remember what
the All American looked like, and the original documents had been
destroyed. Therefore this banjo was sent to the factory, to be used as the
model for the reissue.

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